Bellator has finalized a big time welterweight matchup for one of their upcoming cards. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani was the first to report today that the promotion had finalized a matchup between Michael “Venom” Page (18-1) and Derek Anderson (17-3, 1 NC).
The matchup will take place on the main card at Bellator 258 on May 7th. Originally, these two men were supposed to meet back in 2017. However, MVP was forced out of the matchup and they haven’t been rescheduled until now.
Derek Anderson will enter the Bellator cage on May 7th having gone 5-1 in his last six matchups. The lone loss came to Derek Campos by decision, but after that loss, Anderson has won three fights in a row.
The last time we saw Anderson was at Bellator 251 in November. Anderson took on Killys Mota and was able to win with a second round soccer kick for the knockout. He’s looked very impressive over his last few wins.
The one issue with Anderson has been his activity level. As mentioned, he’s gone 5-1 in his last six Bellator matchups, but those spanned over five years. Hopefully we will start to see Derek Anderson be a little more active moving forward.
Bellator 258 Welterweight Matchup
Michael “Venom” Page is one of the flashiest fighters that Bellator has. He’s got a very interesting striking style and he goes for techniques you normally don’t see in a MMA matchup.
However, his style led to his one loss against Douglas Lima back in 2019 by knockout. Since that knockout loss at Bellator 221, MVP has gone 4-0. The last time we saw him was at Bellator 248 last October.
Page took on Ross Houston in that matchup. MVP had a lot of momentum leading into that fight having won three straight by knockout. However, the Houston fight failed to live up to expectations. MVP still got the decision, but fans were not thrilled with the performance.
You have to think that the Bellator welterweight is going to look to make a statement on May 7th. If he’s able to get a win in a few weeks, it might be time that he gets another crack at the welterweight title.